The Mayflower once again proved itself the perfect venue for ballet with this delightful Derek Deane production for the ENB.

Swan Lake and The Nutcracker, both recently performed at The Mayflower by the ENB, are the more obvious crowd-pleasers, but Deane made this haunting little tale of a chambermaid's doomed love for an Austrian count equally memorable with his beautiful sets and otherworldly choreography.

The first act was the more colourful of the two, with the romantic drama of Giselle's love for the count, and her eventual death from a broken heart when she discovers he is already engaged, played out in front of an Austrian country hotel setting and a stunning backdrop of the Alps.

Act II moved into a forest clearing, with Giselle summoned from her grave by the Wilis (the vengeful spirits of jilted virgins, before you ask) and Hilarion - Giselle's other suitor - lured to his doom over a clifftop.

Giselle is a mournful rather than especially passionate ballet, but it is far from gloomy or depressing. The overall impression is one of ethereal sadness and lovelorn beauty, not unrelenting misery. Certainly, for the audience it is an entirely joyful experience.